By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

A surging number of young Korean males with dual nationality have given up their Korean citizenship in a bid to avoid mandatory military service.

The move came after the National Assembly passed an amendment to the nationality law on May 4, which will require male Koreans born overseas to serve the military even if they have dual nationality.

As the new law will take effect next month, many minors with dual nationality or their parents are rushing to abandon their Korean nationality.

The number of those who gave up their Korean citizenship used to be around 20 a month before May 4.

However, the number surged to 97 on May 6, 47 on May 7, 46 on May 9, and 143 on May 10.

The new law is in response to an increasing number of Korean mothers going abroad to give birth as a means of saving their sons from military service.

The law will allow boys, who acquired foreign nationality while their parents were staying abroad for study or work at the time of birth, to give up their Korean citizenship only after they finish the military service.

The current nationality law allows boys with dual nationality to choose one of them before they turn 17. Thus many have chosen to renounce their Korean nationality to avoid military conscription.

But, such cases of renunciation will no longer allowed from next month under the revised law.

``Most of the cases were boys born from 1988 to 1991 and only one or two cases have been for girls. Almost all of those giving up their Korean nationality are those who are subject to military service,’’ said an official of the nationality affairs office at the Ministry of Justice.

With children aged 15 and under, parents can abandon their children’s nationality on behalf of their children. In the case of children aged over 15, parents should submit to the authority a proxy from the children.

Most of the parents are believed to be professors, doctors, diplomats and businessmen, but they write as ``employee’’ or ``running own business’’ in the occupation item on the nationality documents.

A mother who came to the office on behalf of her 15-year-old son said, ``My son has to come back to Korea from the U.S. to serve the military and it will interrupt his study.’’

A professor’s wife with a five-year-old boy said, ``It is alright the government regulates overseas childbirths that are aimed to avoid military service, but the law treats the childbirth cases of parents staying long in foreign countries the same as the former.’’

Rep. Hong Joon-pyo of the opposition Grand National Party, who initiated the bill, expressed bewilderment, as the result of the bill is against his intention.

``The nationality affairs office should conduct a strict examination on nationality abandonment, and should not approve the cases suspected to be for avoiding military service,’’ Hong said.

``I’ll initiate another bill to treat children who give up Korean nationality as foreigners and to deprive them of rights to have education and medical insurance in Korea,’’ he added.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr